Zurich and Lucerne

So we move on with our experiences in Zurich & Lucerne, out to mount pilatus - which is one of the steepest cogwheel train rides in the world! Pretty exciting... We went with our colleages Dave and Angie.. Took a cruise along lucerne to reach the train station for mount pilatus!

So to people who are planning a trip here, some things to do in Zurich and Lucerne:

Luzern Attractions:

1. One of the main attractions in Lucerne is Mt Pilatus. The way to get there is go to it is this: We take a train from the Lucerene train station to Alpnachstad / or take a 90 min boat cruise to the station. I would suggest the boat cruise.. Its lovely and really scenic! and then take the cogwheel train up to the Pilatus Kulm.

To come down, we can take the cable car or they call it aerial gondola..

2. Swiss transportation museum: - Can take upto 1 whole day

3. Chapel bridge

4. Cruise on Lake Luzern – Must do!!

5. Dying Lion of Lucerne Monument

6. Glacier Garden

7. Nine towers – Again it’s a hike there.. might take a couple of hours.

The glacier garden and nine towers is apparently very close to the lion monument,. We didn’t get there, but have heard great things about it...

There are lots of other museums to see around..

Things to do in Zurich:

- Rhine falls

- Loads of museums around

- Walk down Bahnhofstrasse – extends south of Hauptbahnhof towards the lake. Its a pedestrian street with a tram line down the middle. Has lots of high-end shops for window-browsing.

- Walk through Old Town and the Niederdorf district – situation on both sides of the river Limmat towards the lake. Cobblestone streets and little laneways to wander around. Some shops will be open here on Sunday but not all of them.

- Walk by the lake down to Zurihorn – its a pleasant walk by the lakeside (can be crowded), the lakeside views from Zurihorn are great.

- Churches in old town – Fraumunster, Grossmunster and St Peters. Fraumunster has the stain glass windows by Chagall, Grossmunster has the iconic double spires, St Peters has the biggest clock face in Europe. I think you can walk up one of the towers in Grossmunster, not sure of the cost though. Otherwise free to enter and walk around if there aren’t any church services going on.

- Lindenhof – In old town, this lookout retains part of the original protective walls surrounding the town. Has nice views of the city and river Limmat.

- View from the lookout at Zurich University – higher up than the Lindenhof, also has great views. The university has a distinctive big green dome – should take about 10 minutes to walk from old town.

- Uetliberg (pronounced Oot-lee-berg) – Has a nice view of the Swiss Alps from the viewing tower when the air is clear (can be hazy). Take the S10 train – this departs from Main Station but in a different part of the station. Maybe ask the person at the ticket counter where the platform is (they all speak english). You walk for another 10-15 minutes to get to the lookout..